Norwegian civilians who have conducted surveillance for the US Embassy in Oslo must finally submit to questioning by Norwegian police. The surveillance itself is under investigation because of concerns it was illegal.
Police have been stymied for months in their attempts to probe the surveillance that was carried out for many years by the embassy. The Norwegians hired to carry out the surveillance, most of them reportedly former military and police themselves, have refused to answer questions on the grounds they were bound by confidentiality clauses signed when they began their work.
Norwegian prosecutors lost patience earlier this month and demanded “a clear answer” as to whether the staff would be released from their commitment to keep their work confidential.
Inspector Espen Jamissen of the police unit assigned to carry out the probe told newspaper Bergens Tidende (BT) that the Americans finally have lifted the confidentiality clauses, meaning that those working in the embassy’s so-called Surveillance Detection Unit must now go along with the investigation.
“We will now be calling in around 10 persons for questioning as soon as possible,” Jamissen told BT.
Views and News staff
